Month: June 2017

While visiting Medellin, one of Colombia’s famous cities, we had a chance to explore a coffee farm and the Metrocable. Both experiences bring transient elements – captured in the photos below, as per the Daily Photo Challenge…

Most of us know about the famous Colombian coffee, however it is worth mentioning that it is a very labour intensive crop to produce, process and bring it to the cup (yes, a transient process ). The coffee farm was just 5 min outside the city of Medellin up the rolling hills and it was very authentic. The farmer shared with us the process of coffee growing, processing, selecting and marketing, as well as its many challenges . It was very educational and fun experience, indeed!

Only the right size and colour beans make it to the world markets as premium coffee (the white bag). The rest of the beans (the yellow bucket) are further processed to make instant coffee types.

The Mertocable is the best way to see the poorest (most dangerous, according to some) parts of the city from the safety of a cable car – yet another transient moment.

The winners at Roland Garros (the French Open Tennis championship) this year attracted a lot of attention. In the ladies’ final Ostapenko won against Halep in what was termed ‘’the un-seeded player against the experienced one’’. The focus of all photographers and spectators was directed towards the winner E. Ostapenko in the trophy ceremony.

In the men’s final – Nadal won comfortably against Wawrinka and secured his historical 10th Grand Slam title on clay! The photo is somewhat out-of-focus, in line with the dp weekly challenge…

The Azores are small islands in the Atlantic ocean that are part of Portugal. It was our first visit to San Miguel (one of the islands) and we thoroughly enjoyed it. A week full of fun, peaceful nature and good food. We are certainly coming back to explore the rest of the islands.

The islands are with volcanic origins and the basalt rocks are visible everywhere. There are number of calderas turned into lakes, as well as natural hot springs activity. Due to the humid climate the islands are lush green with extensive range of shrubs, trees and flowers – very pretty sight when trekking along its numerous trails or just enjoying the views from one of its viewpoints.

We visited the island last week and managed to enjoy some of the activities on offer, including:

– Whale and dolphin watching in Ponta Delgada (The marine life is plenty, however it can be wavy and one can feel sea sick…)

– Diving – the waters are not that warm, but the diving is fun with a wetsuit

– Bathing in Termas Ferraria (natural hot spring in the open sea lagoon, as well as spa)

– Bathing in the natural thermal pools of Furnas – those are around 39 C and brown in colour, due to the mineral composition of the waters

– Tasting the famous octopus dish in Musteiros, as well as seafood and fresh fish dishes in small family run restaurants along the island

– Trekking along the trails of Sete Cedades, Nordeste, Furnas and Villa Franca

– Sipping tea from the island’s very own tea factory, where the machinery is from Calcutta, India

– Driving along the well maintained and pretty roads of the island, and discovering the magnificent views one can enjoy (provided the day is sunny, as it often gets foggy here!)

– Tasting the wonderful cheeses and liquors the Islands produce (there are more cows that people here!)